Just a heads-up, kind of a warning for y'all here. Be careful which groups you give support to. Some are effective, others just like to collect money, and yet others are Trojan horse groups that are actually run by anti-gunners and are trying to split our movement. Divide and conquer, and I've seen it work against us.
I'm going to remind you really quick that now isn't the time for a divided front. Now is the time to dig our heels in and say "no more!", no matter how much the other side asks us to be "reasonable" and to "compromise" or how small the infringement may seem at the moment. Our civil rights are at stake here, this is important. Likewise, there is no real and honest conversation about how much more to surrender. Again, these are civil rights, and it's madness to discuss trading them away for some false sense of security.
What's happening is that fake groups are being formed and pushed as representing us. This has a few effects, mostly that media and politicians can get all moist and say "look, gun owners do support infringements" and that it will fool some among us, causing them to throw others under the bus. I've seen the hunters throw black rifle folks under the bus, and the collectors throw the HD/concealed handgun owners under the bus. Thankfully, every shooter in Texas seems to like all guns, so that doesn't seem to be a huge danger here.
Back in '05, a "group" was started by Brady supporters called the "American Hunters and Shooters Association". Thankfully, they seem to have finally thrown in the towel. That was my first experience with this kind of attack, but we all know gun control advocates are great at simply beating their heads against the same wall over and over, thinking that it'll work this time for sure.
Of course, a new group (Facebook page at that link; it doesn't seem this guy has a website even) has popped up on the radar. All the same hallmarks are there. They try to talk the talk, but if you listen close you'll notice they're actually antigun, and they spend more of their time talking down legitimate and effective organizations and people than they do anything else.
The moral of the story here is be careful who you support. Read between the lines and try to get to know who's really behind the group. If it's some group run by anonymous people (ARA posts are signed "Gary B." from Houston), it's probably a troll. If they are putting their names out there, Google their names to see what they're associated with. That's how we found out about AHSA back in '05. Real pro-gun advocates will not hide behind an anonymous front - we're in it lives, fortunes and sacred honor. Real pro-gun advocates won't have names associated with organizing and/or participation in anti-gun groups.
I'm going to remind you really quick that now isn't the time for a divided front. Now is the time to dig our heels in and say "no more!", no matter how much the other side asks us to be "reasonable" and to "compromise" or how small the infringement may seem at the moment. Our civil rights are at stake here, this is important. Likewise, there is no real and honest conversation about how much more to surrender. Again, these are civil rights, and it's madness to discuss trading them away for some false sense of security.
What's happening is that fake groups are being formed and pushed as representing us. This has a few effects, mostly that media and politicians can get all moist and say "look, gun owners do support infringements" and that it will fool some among us, causing them to throw others under the bus. I've seen the hunters throw black rifle folks under the bus, and the collectors throw the HD/concealed handgun owners under the bus. Thankfully, every shooter in Texas seems to like all guns, so that doesn't seem to be a huge danger here.
Back in '05, a "group" was started by Brady supporters called the "American Hunters and Shooters Association". Thankfully, they seem to have finally thrown in the towel. That was my first experience with this kind of attack, but we all know gun control advocates are great at simply beating their heads against the same wall over and over, thinking that it'll work this time for sure.
Of course, a new group (Facebook page at that link; it doesn't seem this guy has a website even) has popped up on the radar. All the same hallmarks are there. They try to talk the talk, but if you listen close you'll notice they're actually antigun, and they spend more of their time talking down legitimate and effective organizations and people than they do anything else.
The moral of the story here is be careful who you support. Read between the lines and try to get to know who's really behind the group. If it's some group run by anonymous people (ARA posts are signed "Gary B." from Houston), it's probably a troll. If they are putting their names out there, Google their names to see what they're associated with. That's how we found out about AHSA back in '05. Real pro-gun advocates will not hide behind an anonymous front - we're in it lives, fortunes and sacred honor. Real pro-gun advocates won't have names associated with organizing and/or participation in anti-gun groups.
